Principal Investigator(s):Mieczkowski, Tom, Department of Criminology. University of South Florida; Mumm, Rosemary, New Orleans Diversion Program; Connick, Harry, District Attorney, New Orleans

Summary:

This project was designed to evaluate the use of a drug
detection instrument, the ion mobility spectrometer (IMS), and to
integrate its use into an ongoing pretrial diversion program for
nonviolent, first-time, drug-abusing offenders. The Pretrial
Diversion Program in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, targeted offenders
with limited arrest histories of nonviolent felony or misdemeanor
violations. The majority of eligible participants were violators of
simple drug possession statutes, primarily c... (more info)

This project was designed to evaluate the use of a drug
detection instrument, the ion mobility spectrometer (IMS), and to
integrate its use into an ongoing pretrial diversion program for
nonviolent, first-time, drug-abusing offenders. The Pretrial
Diversion Program in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, targeted offenders
with limited arrest histories of nonviolent felony or misdemeanor
violations. The majority of eligible participants were violators of
simple drug possession statutes, primarily crack/cocaine or
marijuana. Persons charged with drug distribution offenses were not
eligible. In order to qualify for diversion, persons had to admit
guilt regarding the acts for which they were arrested. The program
was entirely voluntary. One of the unique aspects of this program
was its aggressive use of drug testing, including urinalysis and hair
analysis. This project evaluated the ability of the IMS to provide
complete drug profile information to supervising agencies and
assessed its usefulness to field staff engaged in drug monitoring
duties. The project was based on the premise that enhanced
information on offenders diverted into this program could create or
improve several key aspects of program operation, such as client
assessment, monitoring of compliance and progress, dispositional
decision-making, client motivation, and staff morale. The study was
designed to integrate the IMS into the normal operation of the New
Orleans Pretrial Diversion Program with as little modification of
existing treatment and supervision protocols as possible. Each client
in the diversion program underwent an intensive intake assessment
including an intake radioimmunoassay (RIA) hair assay and an
additional RIA hair assay every 60 days. Each client was urine-tested
at intake and assigned to a random test pool. The modified protocol
for the project added an IMS-based scan or a hair specimen, skin
wipe, and ten-second vacuum scan of clothing, hands, and axillae at
intake. At each subsequent visit each client had a repeat IMS scan
utilizing a skin swab and a scan of clothing or body area. Variables
include self-reported cocaine use, self-reported marijuana use, IMS
date, urinalysis date, hair assay results, urinalysis results, IMS
detection, nicotine use, maximum amplitude, delta, cumulative
amplitude, number of detections, whether the IMS showed a positive
result, and the age, sex, and race of the client.

Universe:
All offenders participating in the New Orleans Pretrial
Diversion Program in 1996.

Data Types:
clinical data

Methodology

Study Purpose:
This project was designed to evaluate the use of
a drug detection instrument, the ion mobility spectrometer (IMS), and
to integrate its use into an ongoing pretrial diversion program for
nonviolent, first-time, drug-abusing offenders. The Pretrial
Diversion Program in Orleans Parish, Louisiana, targeted offenders
with limited arrest histories of nonviolent felony or misdemeanor
violations. One of the unique aspects of this program was its
aggressive use of drug testing, including urinalysis and hair
analysis. A random urinalysis testing protocol provided short-term
monitoring of drug use, while hair assays permitted a relatively
long-term evaluation of a person's exposure to and use of illegal
drugs, especially cocaine. This project evaluated the ability of the
IMS to provide complete drug profile information to supervising
agencies and assessed its usefulness to field staff engaged in drug
monitoring duties. The project was based on the premise that enhanced
information on offenders diverted into this program could create or
improve several key aspects of program operation, such as client
assessment, monitoring of compliance and progress, dispositional
decision-making, client motivation, and staff morale.

Study Design:
The study was designed to integrate the IMS into
the normal operation of the New Orleans Pretrial Diversion Program
with as little modification of existing treatment and supervision
protocols as possible. The IMS is a highly sensitive analytic
chemical detector. It is a "time of flight" instrument, based on the
ionization of an unknown analyte, the introduction of the ionized
material into a drift tube, and the detection and recording of the
collision of the ionized material with a collector plate. The
combination of the length of time of the material in the drift tube
(the drift time) plotted with the energy detected by the collector
plate produces a characteristic signature, called a plasmagram, which
can be uniquely associated with a known material. The IMS was located
on-site at the diversion program location that was housed within the
New Orleans District Attorney's office complex. Each client in the
diversion program underwent an intensive intake assessment including
an intake radioimmunoassay (RIA) hair assay and an additional RIA
hair assay every 60 days. Each client had a urine test at intake and
was assigned to a random test pool. The modified protocol for the
project added an IMS-based scan or a hair specimen, skin wipe, and
ten-second vacuum scan of clothing, hands, and axillae at intake. At
each subsequent visit each client had a repeat IMS scan utilizing a
skin swab and a scan of clothing or body area. Clients had additional
vacuum scans done when deemed appropriate by a counselor. The
incentive for the offender was that upon successful completion of
program requirements after a prescribed period of time (a minimum of
six months for felonies and three months for misdemeanors), the
charges were dismissed and the person did not appear in
court. Violations of the program conditions resulted in program
dismissal, at which time the case would reenter the normal judicial
routing for prosecution.

Extent of Processing: ICPSR data undergo a confidentiality review and are altered when necessary to limit the risk of
disclosure. ICPSR also routinely creates ready-to-go data files along with setups in the major
statistical software formats as well as standard codebooks to accompany the data. In addition to
these procedures, ICPSR performed the following processing steps for this data collection:

Standardized missing values.

Checked for undocumented or out-of-range codes.

Version(s)

Original ICPSR Release:2001-11-02

Version History:

2005-11-04 On 2005-03-14 new files were added to one
or more datasets. These files included additional setup files as well
as one or more of the following: SAS program, SAS transport, SPSS portable,
and Stata system files. The metadata record was revised 2005-11-04 to
reflect these additions.